Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Harvest Celebration

I used to coordinate monthly dinners for the ladies of my church, so I pulled out photos and handouts from November dinners for inspiration for today's blog post. Below are photos from one of the tablescapes that depicted the theme, "Harvest Celebration."

Pumpkins are always a part of the fall harvest, hence the pumpkin candleholder in the centerpiece below.

If you look closely, you can see pumpkin candies in burlap-lined baskets at each place setting, and a small, clear, plastic cup containing a few pumpkin seeds for each lady to take home to contemplate the "seeds" [deeds] they have sown, as well as the seeds they'd like to sow in the future.

Did you know there is a correlation between growing pumpkins and successful living?

Growing pumpkins begins with a plan - determining where the pumpkin patch will be located, and what kind of pumpkins will be sown and harvested.

God has a wonderful plan for our lives too, and when we follow His plan we grow successfully, reaping a harvest of blessings from deeds that we've sown.

Pumpkins are a versatile crop - they have more uses than just being Halloween Jack-o-lanterns. They are referred to as "the fruit of many faces," due to their varied uses.

Humans are varied and versatile too - we possess many talents and abilities to enrich the lives of others.

I love the example how native Americans planted pumpkins with corn and beans. The three crops were called the "Three Sisters," and were planted in a circular garden. Corn was in the center, surrounded by beans, with pumpkins on the outer perimeter. As they grew, each of the "Three Sisters" helped each other grow better. The pumpkin vines and leaves covered the ground like a blanket, crowding out light and preventing weeds from getting started. They created a prickly barrier that helped keep raccoons, deer, and other critters away from the corn. The bean plants added nutrients to the soil, helping to feed the hungry corn, while the corn made a natural trellis for the beans to climb. Likewise we need each other as we journey through the garden of life.

After the pumpkin seed has been planted, but before the pumpkin appears, the plant bears beautiful blossoms. It has been said, "If pumpkins were rare, gardeners would pamper them in greenhouses just for their extraordinary flowers."

We can bloom where we're planted to provide beauty for others.

Pumpkins are a healing fruit - a great source of beta carotene which helps fight disease.

We can be a healing balm to those around us who need encouragement.

In Colonial times, pumpkins were such a favorite food that the Port of Boston was called Pumpkinshire! And some today still use the word pumpkin as a term of endearment. While most of us wouldn't aspire to attaining the nickname pumpkin, we can aspire to having hearts [the innermost core of our being] that produce "fruits" of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 5:22-23].

And to bring this post around to tea, it is said that pumpkin tea regulates blood sugar. So drink up, as you enjoy your Thanksgiving desserts! ;-)